I LEARNT with profound sadness that Tavenganiswa Mabikacheche, who was popularly and affectionately known as Mabika, passed away on Wednesday January 6, 2021 at the age of 68 years.
Muchadeyi A Masunda
Mabika was the epitome of the well-worn cliche that “where there is a will, there is a way”. He initially trained and qualified as a State-registered nurse in the United Kingdom and, to his eternal credit, he burnt the midnight oil to literally lift himself by the straps of his boots to become a fully-fledged registered estate agent and land valuer.
He returned to Zimbabwe during the heady and euphoric days of uhuru in the early 1980s and rose to the giddy heights of city valuer and estates manager for the City of Harare from 1984 to 1987.
My first interaction with Mabika was through my role as the inaugural honorary secretary and treasurer of the Shumbas Golf Society which we formed in 1984 for the express purpose of encouraging indigenous senior civil servants, professionals, academics and businesspersons to build more effective, vibrant and sustainable networks through the game of golf. He was one of the stalwart supporters of Falcon Golf Club in Hatfield, Harare.
In 1989, I had the pleasure and privilege of facilitating his application for membership of Royal Harare Golf Club (RHGC) where he diligently and dutifully maintained his membership for 32 years until his untimely death.
My second interaction with him was through his membership of the pool of arbitrators and mediators maintained by the Commercial Arbitration Centre with effect from July 1995 to date.
Mabika became one of the most sought-after land valuers in connection with the resolution of disputes over the intrinsic value of immovable property throughout Zimbabwe.
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He may not have been endowed with the gift of the gab nor did he have a charismatic physical presence and yet he achieved quite a number of milestones which included, inter alia, the following:
Founding managing director of Mabikacheche & Associates, a firm of registered estate agents and valuers;
Past chairman of the Estate Agents’ Council of Zimbabwe;
Past chairman of the Valuers’ Council of Zimbabwe;
Past assessor of the Administrative Court of Zimbabwe;
Founder of the Mabikacheche Rural and Urban Sports Promotion (MARUSP);
Past president of the Manicaland Province Golf Union;
Past president of the Harare Province Golf Union;
Past vice-president of the Zimbabwe Golf Association.
He covered himself in glory as a distinguished and respected golf rules official. He was passionately involved in developing and promoting, at considerable personal expense, the sport of golf largely among the historically disadvantaged and less-privileged members of our community, especially in rural areas.
His many golf protégés include:
Robson Chinhoi, a member of the RHGC, who won his first event on the Safari Tour at Royal Nairobi Golf Club in Kenya during October, 2020 as well as the Uganda Open Golf Tournament in December 2020 with a brilliant 15-under par score of 273;
Biggie Chibvuri who is plying his “golf trade” in the West African Professional Golf Circuit;
Promise Sumburero, who has already earned his national colours representing Zimbabwe in the Region V Golf Tournament in Kitwe, Zambia.
Zimbabwe has lost a dedicated golf administrator who served the sport with humility and distinction for more than 30 years. He will be sorely missed. My heartfelt condolences go to his family, especially his daughter, Tatenda, who has since taken up golf administration in the United States, where she is based.
Muchadeyi Ashton Masunda is past honorary secretary and treasurer of the Shumbas Golf Society, past captain and president of Royal Harare Golf Club, past president of the Zimbabwe Golf Association, past mayor of the City of Harare, chairman of the Commercial Arbitration Centre.
